Prince explains exit

London: Prince Harry has said he stepped back from his royal duties because the ‘‘toxic’’ British press had been destroying his mental health.

The prince and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, sent shockwaves through the monarchy in January 2020 when they announced they would step back from royal duties and move to the US.

‘‘It was never walking away. It was stepping back rather than stepping down. There was a really difficult environment as I think a lot of people saw,’’ the prince told James Corden, host of The Late Late Show.

‘‘We all know what the British press could be like, and it was destroying my mental health, I was like ‘this is toxic’. So I did what any husband and what any father would do . . . I need to get my family out of here.’’ — Reuters